In the movie "Chiefs of Namsan", Lee Byung Hun's role is KCIA chief Kim Gyupyung (In real history, Kim Jaegyu), who did the central role in keeping the absolute power. Lee Sung Min is for the role of President Park, Gwak Do Won is for the role of former KCIA chief Park Yonggak (in real history, Kim Hyungwook who went missing in Paris). Lee Hee Joon will be upcoming new 2nd in the power order, the Chief Officer of the Presidential Security, Gwak Sangchun (in real history, could be Cha Jicheol), and Kim So Jin will be lobbyist Deborah Shim.

Dir. Woo Min Ho revealed that "Some of these stories are very well known, but why these happened are not certain yet. I want to tell this tragedy of modern history and the other side of it in noir style, and deal with universal theme of the obsession for the power and its collapse. I will try to present good movie based on actors/actresses who chose this movie and their trust. "

Spoiler

Representing actors/actresses, Lee Byung Hun said "I have trust in Dir. Woo Min Ho, I'm glad to work with him again after the movie "Inside Men". This movie will deal with multitude of genres including espionage, psychology, drama and action, and that inspires me and also put more weight on me as an actor. I am also looking forward to work with actors/actresses who I have never worked with. I'll try my best to achieve the finest work with all of us together."

The filming of "Chiefs of Namsan" will go abroad in November this year to film in the United States and France to depict the 1970's Korea, espionage while focusing on 2nd in powers centered on KCIA and their rivalries in more realistic details.

On June 5, according to the film industry news, Lee Byung Hun is in positive discussion with “Inside Men” director Woo Min Ho in his new movie “ Heads of Namsan” based on the book of the same name. The book used the Ministers of the Korean Central Intelligence Agency and their planning politics as the material to reveal the inside story of Korean politics.

The film will be a reconstruction based on the stories of Kim Jae Gyu and Kim Hyong Uk, who were both Directors of the Korean Central Intelligence Agency.Kim Hyong Uk disappeared when the late President Park Chung Hee was in power.Until now, the disappearance of Kim Hyong Uk is still a mystery in modern history.The film is expected to start with the story of Kim Jae Gyu in the centre of the disappearance of Kim Hyong Uk.Lee Byung Hun was offered the part to play Kim Jae Gyu.

On June 5, according to the film industry news, Lee Byung Hun is in positive discussion with “Inside Men” director Woo Min Ho in his new movie “ Heads of Namsan” based on the book of the same name. The book used the Ministers of the Korean Central Intelligence Agency and their planning politics as the material to reveal the inside story of Korean politics.

The film will be a reconstruction based on the stories of Kim Jae Gyu and Kim Hyong Uk, who were both Directors of the Korean Central Intelligence Agency.Kim Hyong Uk disappeared when the late President Park Chung Hee was in power.Until now, the disappearance of Kim Hyong Uk is still a mystery in modern history.The film is expected to start with the story of Kim Jae Gyu in the centre of the disappearance of Kim Hyong Uk.Lee Byung Hun was offered the part to play Kim Jae Gyu.

“Heads of Namsan” is based on a book of the same name. Lee Byung Hun has been offered the role of Kim Jae Gyu.

The movie will be directed by Woo Min Ho, the same director who led Lee Byung Hun’s movie “Inside Men.” If Lee Byung Hun chooses to accept the role, the two of them will be working together for the second time.

Lee Byung Hun is also starring in upcoming drama “Mr. Sunshine,” which will premiere sometime in July.

– May 24, 1980) was a South Korean Army Lieutenant General and the director of the Korean Central Intelligence Agency. He assassinated South Korean President Park Chung-hee—who had been one of his closest friends—on October 26, 1979, and was subsequently executed by hanging on May 24, 1980.

He remains a controversial figure with many contradictions: he is regarded by some as a patriot who ended Park's 18-year military dictatorship, and by others as a traitor who killed his long-time benefactor out of personal grievance. For many years, the latter was the prevailing view, but later revelations in the early 2000s about Kim's relationship with some leaders of the democracy movement prompted a re-evaluation in some circles.

November 3, 2015

The inside story of the Park Chung Hee killingKIM JONG-PIL REMEMBERS: 74

President Park Chung Hee enjoys a drink with Kim Gae-won, middle, and Cha Ji-cheol in 1979, in his hometown in North Gyeongsang. [Kim Jong-pil]

This is the latest in a series of articles on the life and times of Kim Jong-pil, a two-time prime minister, based on extensive interviews with the 89-year-old.

I stayed at the Blue House until the early morning after that fateful night of Oct. 26, 1979.

I met Chief Presidential Secretary Kim Gye-won and dragged him to his office on the second floor to hear what had happened to President Park Chung Hee, murdered just hours before by his longtime confidant Kim Jae-gyu.

“Tell me everything you know so that I can make a record of everything I know about the death of the president,” I demanded.

Cha Ji-cheol, far right, is briefed by a lawmaker in February 1964 during a visit to the headquarters of the Army’s sixth division. Kim Jae-gyu, who killed Cha 15 years later, sits on the far left. During the later years of the Park Chung Hee government, Kim often found himself outraged by what he perceived to be Cha’s rudeness. [National Archives of Korea]

Kim’s jacket was stained with Park’s blood. He had taken Park’s body to the Armed Forces Seoul Hospital from the restaurant where the president had been fatally shot.

Unable to bring his thoughts together, Kim continued to blame himself. “I was such an idiot!”

The things he told me in his office that night were things he did not reveal later in the investigation and court trials. I believe what he told me can bring us a step closer to knowing the truth.

The following is a summary of what Kim told me:

Spoiler

The president, feeling upbeat after his attendance of a ribbon-cutting ceremony to mark the erection of a seawall on the Sapgyo Stream in Asan, South Chungcheong, ordered his subordinates to arrange a banquet in Gongjeong-dong, central Seoul.

Before dinner, Kim Gye-won had a chat with Kim Jae-gyu, who fatally shot the president later in the evening.

Gye-won recalled Jae-gyu telling him, “If we’re too harsh in suppressing the demonstrators in Busan and Masan [calling for democracy], there will be a huge backlash from the people down there. But the ruling Republican Party isn’t giving President Park the right advice because it fears Cha Ji-cheol. I am going to get rid of him today.”

Taking Jae-gyu’s comment as a joke, Gye-won replied, “Yeah, that bastard deserves to be punished.”

In hindsight, Gye-won thought Jae-gyu had meant to scare Cha Ji-cheol, who had called on President Park to deploy forces to quell the protesters in both southern cities.

At the time, President Park was mulling sacking Kim Jae-gyu as head of the intelligence agency because he thought Jae-gyu had failed to control the opposition party and its chief, Kim Young-sam.

Kim Jae-gyu was under the illusion that he had lost credibility with Park due to Cha’s dirty tricks.

At 6:05 p.m., Park and Cha arrived at the restaurant, which was guarded by KCIA personnel. Cha did not have a pistol on him. Park sat at the center of the dinner table, facing Kim Jae-gyu. Cha sat to Park’s left, and to his right was Kim Gye-won.

As the president sat down, he started lashing out at Kim Jae-gyu, his longtime confidant.

“Jae-gyu, my disappointment in you grows day by day. You are just utterly disappointing in your job. … How can you do nothing to quell the protests in Busan and Masan with all the money I have given you? What excuse do you have this time?”

Cha interrupted Park: “The situation has gotten worse due to the government’s inaction.”

Kim Jae-gyu, meanwhile, sat in silence, taking in the criticism.

Park continued to scold him for his lackluster performance as intelligence agency chief as if he were a child.

Kim, who avoided drinking because of his liver, indulged himself that night, and his temper neared a head at around 7:40 p.m.

Park continued: “I should have arrested Kim Young-sam, but I didn’t because Lew Hyuck-in [the first presidential political affairs secretary] advised me against it. But that has just increased the chaos.”

Jae-gyu objected to Park’s assessment. “The people believe Kim was punished sufficiently by being expelled from the Assembly,” he said.

But Park did not agree, “The KCIA needs to be more threatening. It needs to move faster to deal with irregularities by opposition lawmakers when it has evidence, instead of standing idly by.”

Before the conversation, Kim had left the table and went outside to his office, where he collected his pistol, a German Walter PPK .32.

Back at the table, he raised his voice: “Politics should recognize each side as a rightful partner, and you should be willing to give your partner some incentive in return for having your demands answered. Unless you promise them that incentive, the opposition will never answer your call.”

At the time, lawmakers from the opposition New Democratic Party, led by Kim Young-sam, had tendered their resignations in protest of Kim’s expulsion from parliament.

Cha dissented: “None of those fools really meant to give up their seats. I will stop them with tanks if I have to. I don’t care if they’re lawmakers.”

And it was at that moment that Kim Jae-gyu stood up, shouting profanity, with his pistol in his right hand.

“You bastard, go to hell!” he screamed, shooting Cha in his right elbow.

He then turned to Park and unloaded more profanities at him.

“You too can go to hell!” he screamed, shooting the president in the chest.

After that shot, the gun jammed. He tried to pull the trigger, but was unsuccessful. Kim later testified in a court that his actions were deliberate to restore democracy. But none of it was true. If the assassination had truly been premeditated, he would have known how many bullets he had in his pistol and it wouldn’t have jammed.

After his weapon got stuck, he left the room and took a .38 revolver from a KCIA subordinate. He found Cha, who was hiding out in the restroom, and shot him in the chest.

By that point, Kim was completely out of his senses. He came back to President Park, who was bleeding, sitting in a chair. He aimed his gun at Park’s head and fired.

Kim fired four shots in total that evening.

Looking back on it, Cha, whose job was to protect the president at all costs, had fled to the restroom, while Park died at the hands of his intelligence chief without any means to defend himself.

Presidential security had collapsed due to the cracks inside Park’s power circle.

Kim Gye-won, a former four-star general, crawled out of the room and escaped, frightened by the chaos. It only adds to the tragedy that Kim Gye-won, the former Army chief, did nothing to stop Jae-gyu, and instead fled for his life.

As I listened to Gye-won’s account, I had to breathe deeply to stay composed. The profound sense of shock, anger and sadness was too much.

Then I recalled my conversation with a fortune-teller 18 years ago.

The fortune-teller, whom I visited after the May 16 revolution [coup] in 1961, told me and Park that his revolution would succeed and that his government would last about 20 years.

Park smiled.

But as I was about to leave, the fortune-teller approached me and whispered, “I couldn’t say this to Park directly, but I saw that his end will not be good. It will come about in an ugly way.”

In hindsight, that “ugly way” turned out to be his assassination.

Over the next 18 years, I kept that prediction to myself and never told a soul. And then, nearly two decades later, it came true.

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So i searched for only actress mentioned in the article, Kim So-jin. I never heard of her, but from the search result, she is from theatre/movies and started being recognized in movie scenes too.

Award history for her.

2017 Daejongsang best supporting actress

Baeksang movie best supporting actress

Blue Dragon Best supporting actress

Korean Movie Producer Association Award - Best supporting Actress

2018 This year's movie award best supporting actress

Today's young artist award for play.

Those awards are for her role in the movie "The King", but there are other movies recognizable in her filmography. I think her acting skills are well known and well exercised... so far, all the casts are known for acting skills. I'm starting to anticipate more about this movie!

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Thanks so much @mistymorning for the highlight and info on Kim So Jin, it's really good to know that the movie producers have chosen an incredible cast for the movie. Despite being 'unknown' for now, KSJ's achievement is definitely putting the actress at par with her co-stars.

Speaking of co-stars, Lee Byung Hun's fellow actor from Inside Men, Jo Woo Jin had sent a coffee truck to the filming set of Chiefs of Namsan last week. Rising star JWJ was also LBH's co-star in The Fortress and the recently-concluded drama, Mr.Sunshine. He reportedly had visited the set to meet up with LBH and Dir. WMH as well. From Inside Men, JWJ is certainly an actor making his mark in Chungmuro.

This photo taken in 1975 shows President Park Chung-hee flanked by Kim Jae-gyu, left, and chief bodyguard Cha Ji-cheol, right, in Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province. Kim worked as construction minister then and became the director of the Korean Central Intelligence Agency (KCIA) in 1976. The KCIA director killed President Park and Cha during a dinner in 1979. / Korea Times file

As director of the Korean CIA in 1979, Kim Jae-gyu was the last man considered a threat to President Park Chung-hee. A longtime friend, Kim’s official job was to monitor and catch enemies of the state. But as the dictator embodied the state, his job in practice was to monitor, manipulate and spy on anyone who threatened Park’s life, rule or reputation, be they North Korean agents, local poets, politicians or priests.

In this role, he was a key figure in the inner circle. Another was Cha Ji-cheol, the head of the Presidential Security Service. A brutish man who controlled the President’s schedule, his maneuvering drove Kim to a furious final outburst during which he killed both Cha and their boss.

Kim came from Gumi, the same town as Park. He was born in 1926 and attended the local Gyeongbuk University. In 1945, he took a job as a school teacher but the next year switched careers to enter the South Joseon Defense Academy, the forerunner of the Korea Military Academy. He was in the same class as Park Chung-hee.

From there Kim went to the Army College, graduating during the Korean War. He was made a regimental commander in 1954 and three years later was appointed vice-president of the Army College.

At the time of Park’s coup in 1961, the revolutionaries detained Kim, believing him to be an opponent. Park intervened and ordered his release. In 1963, Park made Kim the commander of the Sixth Division. His troops were used to put down student protests against the Korean-Japanese normalization. Kim is reported to have opposed the use of the Army for detaining protesters (one of whom was the current president Lee Myung-bak), which he saw as police work.

In 1968, Kim was appointed head of the Defense Security Command, a military intelligence body that spied for the dictator on the military itself.

According to some reports, Kim favored democracy. He is said to have privately criticized the formation of Hanahoe, a fraternity of younger graduates of the military academy which swore loyalty to Park. This group was led by Chun Doo-hwan, who later, as head of the Defense Security Command, would investigate Park’s assassination and go on to stage his own coup. Kim also allegedly opposed the 1972 Yushin Constitution, the measures forced through the parliament to quell dissent and guarantee Park’s position as president for life.

Writing in prison after the assassination, Kim claimed that it was Yushin that made him turn against Park. In the courtroom, he further claimed that he had earlier, as commander of the Third Division, intended to detain Park on base and force his resignation. One of his subordinates, who happened to be his own brother-in-law, backed this somewhat far-fetched claim with testimony that Kim had set up a fence around a small building on base to hold Park in.

This never happened. Instead, in 1974, Kim was appointed to the cabinet as minister of construction. His defense lawyer in 1979 said he had first planned to assassinate Park during the appointment ceremony.

Two years later, Park made Kim KCIA director. The American Embassy considered him an untypical intelligence chief for his apparent support for democracy and improvement of human rights.

Twenty-five years after Park’s death, stories of Kim’s connections with the then Roman Catholic Cardinal Kim Sou-hwan and another leading light of the democracy movement, Jang Jun-ha, a journalist and politician, prompted some rethinking of Kim’s reason for killing Park. Kim reportedly asked Cardinal Kim to propose that Park revise the Yushin Constitution. The cardinal was considered the only person in the country who could safely speak his mind to the President. However, the discussions went nowhere.

This view of Kim notwithstanding, it was under his watch that the agency murdered one of his predecessors, Kim Hyeong-wook, for the unforgivable crime of testifying against Park before the U.S. Congress.

Crisis unfolds

Spoiler

In 1978 a narrow win in National Assembly elections by the opposition New Democratic Party took the country in the direction of political confrontation. The opposition started to take a stronger line in the Assembly (even though rules which allowed Park to appoint one third of congressmen meant the opposition still lacked a majority). In 1979, despite clandestine efforts by the KCIA in favor of a rival candidate, Kim Young-sam was elected leader of the opposition party. He declared he would not cooperate with Park until the Yushin Constitution was repealed.

In September 1979, the KCIA persuaded some oppositionists to file a suit against their own chairman. Kim Young-sam’s election was promptly invalidated on a technicality. Kim Young-sam then stoked the fire even more intensely by declaring in an interview with The New York Times that Washington should withdraw its support for Park’s dictatorship. Park expelled him from the National Assembly, a move which KCIA Director Kim counseled against.

The KCIA director summoned Kim Young-sam and warned him that further confrontation would end up being worse for everyone. He asked the opposition party leader to claim that the newspaper had misunderstood his point. Kim Young-sam refused. All opposition lawmakers resigned from the Assembly, the U.S. withdrew its ambassador, and protests erupted in Kim Young-sam’s home base of Busan and Masan.

The KCIA director himself went to Busan expecting to see the usual student protests but instead saw adults participating in what he considered to be a popular uprising.

Cha Ji-cheol, meanwhile, was proving to be an increasing thorn in Kim Jae-gyu’s side. Cha had been appointed as chief bodyguard in 1974 after an assassination attempt on Park in which the first lady, Yook Yeong-su, was shot dead.

With his privileged position, Cha began to use his intimate access to the lonely President to inflate his role. He built up his command to equal that of an army division with its own tanks, helicopters, and troops. On one occasion, after a provincial governor had surprised the President by lighting Park’s cigarette with his lighter accidentally turned to high-flame, Cha stayed behind and physically assaulted the hapless official.

In his last year, Cha began to step more boldly onto Kim’s territory. When he started to control the presidential schedule, he pushed the KCIA briefing, normally the first item on the daily agenda, to the afternoon. Cha allegedly interfered in KCIA attempts to block Kim Young-sam’s election and then blamed Kim Jae-gyu for its failure. Cha also argued for Kim Young-sam’s expulsion from the parliament, the move which the KCIA director opposed and which led to the Busan-Masan uprising. Cha blamed the deterioration of events on Kim Jae-gyu’s weak leadership.

On his final day, Park attended ribbon-cutting ceremonies for a dam and for a new KBS TV transmitting station. Kim was expected to accompany him since the TV station was under KCIA jurisdiction but Cha blocked him from riding in the same helicopter with the President. The KCIA director angrily excused himself from the trip.

When he arrived back in Seoul, the President told the KCIA a dinner at one of its safe houses in Gungjeong-dong in the Jongno district of Seoul. The KCIA director was there, as was Cha, the president’s Chief Secretary Kim Gye-won (who had been head of the Army College when Kim Jae-gyu was the vice-president). The two other participants were singer Sim Soo-bong and a young lady named Shin Jae-soon.

During the dinner, they talked about the protests in Busan. The President and his bodyguard talked tough while the KCIA director proposed a moderate approach. Park criticized him for being soft and Cha weighed in. Kim left the room and came back with a weapon and shot Cha and Park. Outside, KCIA agents shot and killed other presidential bodyguards and the President’s driver.

Kim then ran to the building nearby where Army Chief of Staff Jeong Seung-hwa was waiting with KCIA Deputy Director Kim Jeong-seop. Kim told Jeong the President was dead but did not explain what had happened. Instead of going to the KCIA, they drove to the defense ministry to arrange for emergency martial law.

When the Army chief learned from the President’s chief secretary that Kim was the killer, he ordered the head of the Defense Security Command, General Chun Doo-hwan, to arrest him and investigate. The “investigation’’ meant that Kim and his aides were tortured to make confessions. For good measure, Chun later arrested Army Chief of Staff Jeong and Chief Presidential Secretary Kim.

After a trial in May 1980, Kim Jae-gyu, his driver and three KCIA agents were hanged. His chief aide, who was on military service, was shot by firing squad. Another agent was sentenced to a prison term.

Michael Breen is an author, former foreign correspondent and the chairman of Insight Communications, a public relations consulting company. He can be reached at mike.breen@insightcomms.com.

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Hi @Jan Dagoy, it's believed that the production is currently filming in Washington D.C. It makes sense since this is a political-based movie. Not sure if they are still filming or almost done over there.

Posted by Lee Byung Hun's manager on IG. One of his tags (in Korean) mentioned this movie.

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(11/11) Lee Byung Hun's manager indicated on his IG post that they've checked out of their NY hotel. It's uncertain if they will still be in the US or moving on to France for the rest of the overseas filming.

November 7, 2018

LEE Byung-hun, LEE Sung-min and KWAK Do-won Enter 1970s Political ThrillerINSIDE MEN Director and Star Reunite for CHIEFS OF NAMSAN

The director and star of Inside Men (2015) are teaming up again for a new political thriller. Chiefs of Namsan (translated title), based on the 1992 book of the same name, will star LEE Byung-hun alongside LEE Sung-min and KWAK Do-won, with WOO Min-ho handling the director’s reins. The film kicked off production on October 20 and will continue filming into the new year.

Set in the politically turbulent 1970s, Chiefs of Namsan will see LEE take on the role of Kim Kyu-pyung (based on the former Korean Central Intelligence Agency chief KIM Jae-gyu). LEE Sung-min (seen in The Spy Gone North and The Witness this year) is playing President Park (based on PARK Chung-hee), while KWAK (lead of last winter’s Steel Rain) is on board as Park Yong-gak (based on KIM Hyung-wook, a previous KCIA head). In real life, KIM Jae-gyu is known as President PARK Chung-hee’s assassin.

Also in the cast are LEE Hee-jun (1987: When the Day Comes, 2017) as Kwak Sang-chun, the Chief Officer of Presidential Security, and KIM So-jin (The King, 2017) as the lobbyist Deborah Shim.

When LEE and director WOO last teamed up they landed a huge hit with the acclaimed hit Inside Men. The film attracted over nine million viewers in late 2015. WOO will surely be very busy at year’s end, as production on Chiefs of Namsan will clash with his promotional obligations for his upcoming 1970s-set crime drama The Drug King, featuring SONG Kang-ho and BAE Doo-na, which is expected to come out in December. WOO’s earlier works include Man Of Vendetta (2010) and The Spies (2012).

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Thanks to mistymorning for the translation of the description ~ filming started the front gate of old US legation. To take a scene where LBH is getting in and out of gate, that many people and equipment were moved. They called for cooperation several days before the actual filming date. They said they'll give us premier tickets after all is done, hope it's not single ticket.. Please MediaCorp Kim Boojangnim, we have a lot of employees...including Daonnaru people.

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Six old-school typewriters model 707 rented by CHIEF OF NAMSAN to be used in the film, have been safely returned to the company handling vintage and retro items from the yesteryears. (LOL, used to type assignments on this many years ago as a student )

From Google-gist, this Busan bakery (famous for delicious homemade macaroons and chocolate) will be featured in the movie. The owner's sibling who posted the pics hopes that the shop will more well-known after the movie is released.

On December 14, Lee Byung Hun shared photos of a coffee truck sent to him by “Mr. Sunshine” co-star Byun Yo Han. The thoughtful gift was sent to the set of Lee Byung Hun’s latest film “Managers of Namsan” (literal title).

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Last year it was Lee Chang-dong's "Burning" that stood out. He certainly didn't disappoint. In 2019 it is Bong Joon-ho's "Parasite" that holds the most promise in terms of the Korean films set to hit screens over the next twelve months.

In truth, this year it's looking a bit lighter than usual, perhaps reflecting two concerns for the industry: a string of high-profile films such as Kim Jee-woon's "Illang: The Wolf Brigade" flopped in 2018, while working regulations to limit the amount of hours crews can work is set to increase budgets.

That being said, there is still much to look forward to. Indeed, in 2018 there were encouraging signs in the form of mid-budget features such as "Little Forest" and "On Your Wedding Day" that succeeded in pulling in the crowds. Some of the best Korean films have been produced on such budgets making this a healthy development for the industry.

'Parasite'

Quite possibly premiering in Cannes in May with a local release soon to follow, there is much to anticipate with a new Bong Joon-ho film. But this new feature is notable because it will mark his return to Korean language films; his last Korean film that was not an international co-production was "Mother" in 2009.

Starring Song Kang-ho, Lee Sun-kyun, Cho Yeo-jeong and Jang Hye-jin, it follows two families who are markedly different yet also alike. Shot around the country including Jeonju where a set was built for the film, comparisons are already being made to Kim Ki-young's 1960 classic "The Housemaid" that centres on a family.

Much like Lee Chang-dong, Bong is incapable of making a bad film. Expect this to feature in top 10 lists at the end of 2019.

'Hit-and-Run Squad'

Released in time for the Lunar New Year season, Han Jun-hee's action-thriller looks promising. Han who brought us the thrilling "Coin Locker Girl" brings together Kong Hyo-jin ("Door Lock") and Ryoo Joon-yeol ("Believer"). The pair work together on a hit-and-run squad to bring down a former formula one racing driver who has become a businessman.

'Beasts that Cling to the Straw'

Featuring a host of names including Jeon Do-yeon, Jung Woo-sung and Youn Yuh-jung, it's the casting that makes this one to look out for. Directed by Kim Yong-hoon, the mystery-thriller is an adaptation of Sone Keisuke's novel of the same name. It follows a number of characters as they find themselves in challenging circumstances.

'Birthday'

Also starring Jeon Do-yeon is the first commercial film to deal with the 2014 tragic Sewol ferry sinking. The actress will play a woman who is coming to terms with the death of her son who was on board the ship, while Sul Kyung-gu will star as the boy's father. The drama will mark the feature debut of Lee Jong-eun who has worked under Lee Chang-dong on "Secret Sunshine" and "Poetry."

'Astronomy'

Han Suk-kyu and Choi Min-sik reunite in Hur Jin-ho's period drama about Korea's most revered monarch King Sejong, and the renowned scientist and inventor Jang Yeong-sil. Han will play the King, while Choi has been cast as Jang. The pair played leading roles in the seminal action-thriller "Shiri" (1999) that ushered in the local blockbuster era. Famous for his melodramas, Hur Jin-ho also collaborated with Han Suk-kyu on his iconic film "Christmas in August." The director will be hoping to repeat the success of his period film "The Last Princess" that was a commercial hit in 2016.

'Naratmalssami'

Another period film also centered on King Sejong to be released in 2019 is Cho Chul-hyun's feature debut. Featuring Song Kang-ho and Park Hae-il, the film follows the King (Song) and the monk who assisted him (Park). King Sejong is famous for having created Hangul, the Korean writing system. Cho has produced a number of films including many of Lee Joon-ik's features, while he also co-wrote Lee's "The Throne" ― also starring Song Kang-ho.

'Find Me'

In her first role in a feature since Park Chan-wook's "Sympathy for Lady Vengeance" Lee Young-ae's return to the big screen is bound to attract attention. The actress plays the mother of a boy with cognitive impairment who goes missing and she goes looking for him. The film marks the feature debut of Kim Seung-woo.

'Chiefs of Namsan'

Although Woo Min-ho's "Drug King" was a disappointment, his next political thriller about the former Korean Central Intelligence Agency Chief Kim Jae-gyu who assassinated former President Park Chung-hee in 1979 sounds intriguing. With Lee Byung-hun playing the lead role as Kim Gyu-pyung (based on Kim Jae-kyu), it is perhaps more in line with his hit "Inside Men" than his more recent film that failed to fully integrate the turbulent 1970s backdrop. Given the story, comparisons to Im Sang-soo's "The President's Last Bang" are inevitable.

Other films

There are also a host of other films set to greet audiences this year. Kim Joo-hwan who made the immensely entertaining "Midnight Runners" is helming the action film "The Divine Fury" starring Park Seo-joon. Kwon Oh-kwang ("Collective Invention) will bring us "Tazza 3," Jang Jae-hyun ("The Priests") returns to Catholicism in "Sabaha," Won Sin-yeon ("The Suspect") is set to provide much spectacle in the period action film "Battle," while Kwak Kyung-taek and Kim Tae-hoon are partnering up for the Korean War film "The Battle of Jangsari" that will star Hollywood actress Megan Fox.